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A registered trademark is vulnerable to revocation or cancellation for non-use if it has not been used for the goods and/or services for which it is registered for a certain amount of time. In most instances, this time period is five years and is calculated from the date of registration, as in South Africa and the European Union.

On 5 June 2024, in proceedings brought by Supermac against the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and McDonalds, the General Court held that McDonald’s had in fact failed to establish genuine use of its BIG MAC European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) in respect of "chicken sandwiches", "foods prepared from poultry products" and in the service class for:

services rendered or associated with operating restaurants and other establishments or facilities engaged in providing food and drink prepared for consumption and for drive-through facilities; preparation of carry-out foods.

The General Court, therefore, partially annulled and altered the decision of the EUIPO and consequently those goods and services have been revoked from the EUTM for BIG MAC aside from "meat sandwiches".

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